After Fine Art and Design in Education: David is a creative entrepreneur
- Fine Art
- Design
David Reijer de Haan (26) is both a visual artist and musician, and he seeks to blend these apparently different worlds together in his work as a maker and creative entrepreneur. The alumnus of the Fine Art and Design in Education course is unconcerned that he didn't have an answer to the question “What now?” immediately after graduating. “It's absurd to think that you need to know everything the moment you finish your course.”
After the Fine Art and Design in Education course at the ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design Zwolle David was still very much looking for his future direction. But rather than hitting the panic button and desperately looking for a job, he actually took advantage of the situation to, as he puts it, “re-ground” himself. "I realised it would actually be a really good thing to take some time after my course and drift around a bit", says David.
Artistic head and musical heart
“My only thought was: I need a place to make and I need a place to earn money. So after spending a little while working in a beer café and in youth care, me and four other makers set up Villa5, a studio where five different artists, including myself, motivate and inspire each other to make beautiful things. I also started doing stuff with music. I am hoping that the two-year Sound of Innovation master’s course I am now doing at the ArtEZ Academy of Music in Enschede will bring my artistic head and my musical heart closer together.”
Art as a means of education
Although he sometimes takes on freelance assignments, David is more interested in being an independent entrepreneur. He paints, make sculptures and works on sound installations, while also enthusiastically participating in collaborations with other people. “What I found the most interesting about my course was discovering how you can communicate with art and use it as a means of education", David explains. He is less enamoured with traditional ways of teaching. "For me, making is a form of education. But it ought to involve talking to people and not becoming a loner. I like seeing how someone else views a particular subject. What do you think about it and how would you do it differently? I draw a lot of inspiration from all those different perspectives."
Furniture maker, architect or lawyer
The fact that David has been largely able to tailor the course to his own wishes is demonstrated by his internship in the third year. He spent it working with a visual artist from France. And for his graduation project, rather than work with schools, he made a documentary about the relationship between art and empathy. "The fact that ArtEZ gave me the space to shape the course in a way that suited me helped ensure that I actually finished it."
When you graduate, you don't necessarily have to be ‘the real deal’. Who says so?”
At some points, he was more drawn to furniture making. Or architecture, or law. “They strike me as more straightforward”, he laughs. “But afterwards I realised that I am happy with what I have made. When you graduate, you don't necessarily have to be ‘the real deal’. Who says so? Ultimately you build your own practice, and it can be as idiosyncratic as you want. I do know people who are now happy teaching in schools. Which is also fine."
Enjoy it!
David does think it is very important, before you start your course, to ask yourself whether you are ready for it. "An art course does demand a lot of you. It involves self-reflection, allowing yourself to be vulnerable. You peel yourself and discover new layers; you do have to prepare yourself for that. It's really good that ArtEZ encourages that personal process, because it's the only way to really achieve makership." Apart from that, David has one other piece of advice for students: “Enjoy it. You're pursuing your passion, you need to cherish that. You get a few years to do what you like doing full-time, so enjoy it."
Consider your target audience
Does he think it is hard to find a place in the existing system as an autonomous artist? David: “A year and a half ago, I would have said ‘yes’. Now I think what is important is to approach the system the way it is, but then to manipulate it to your own ends." In David's view, traditional makership is above all a matter of getting lucky. You make something and you just hope it catches on. He prefers to focus on his target audience. What do they want? In other words: he is a creative entrepreneur who focuses on making, while not losing sight of his goal.
In order to be able to continue doing what you do, you need to strike a balance and ask yourself: are people interested in what I am doing?"
"I still make what I want to make, but I do aim it at a specific group of people who are looking for it", he explains. "Everyone needs to earn a living and pay the rent. If there was a universe where I could just happily go from one thing to the next, I would." But that's not how it works, David believes. “In order to be able to continue doing what you do, you need to strike a balance, and ask yourself: are people interested in what I am doing? If you can't answer that question in a healthy way, it becomes an excuse. Then you start thinking the world is against you, when there really isn't any need to."
Teaching
What is ultimately his greatest dream as an artist? "To be a successful entrepreneur", says David. And he believes that is possible in multiple areas. "For example, organising events and concerts based on my own projects and continuing to work with other makers by setting up exhibitions, giving workshops, etc. I do like the thought of teaching at an art academy myself, but not full-time. Because I do want to continue making. But supporting people during the same process that I went through strikes me as really interesting."
Learn more about the bachelor's course Fine Art and Design in Education
